Then There Was One
by Aerith-Chan
Summary: Snake comes to grips with his feelings toward Otacon. Meanwhile, he's got this nagging feeling..


Snake looked about his tiny Brooklyn apartment and drew in breath sharply. This wasn't going to be easy.  
Snake lived with Otacon for over five years now. they decided to stay in New York City after the Big Shell incident. What better place to hide then in a city filled with millions?  
Snake moved his hand up to his mouth, bringing a cigarette up with it. taking a quick drag on it, he closed his eyes.The taste was heavenly.  
The last of the cigarette gone, he reluctantly pulled it away from his lips and rubbed it into a nearby ashtray. Once he was satisfied it was fully out, he walked over to his - no, to their- couch, and sat down. he bent down, and held his head in his hands, and began to think about things. He mused for a moment-if it was one thing he hated, it was being alone with his thoughts.  
Dave and Hal shared an apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn. They had decided to move there since it was a bit less conspicuous; and, admittedly, the rent was cheaper. It was a 2 room apartment with one bath and one bed-room, which suited them just fine. After much arguing, Hal wound up with the bedroom-he needed space for his computer equipment,  
at any rate. Dave was content to sleep on the couch they picked up from a nearby thrift store- it was a dream compared to other places he'd slept on in his day. Since the living room was effectively his, he kept all of his equipment in between missions in Hal's closet, where it would be out of sight, and he need not be reminded of gruesome deeds he might have done. On that note, they continued to maintain missions for Philanthropy, those chances becoming less frequent with time. Still, there was no word of any Metal Gears rising up, and they didn't need to worry about money, as they were set for quite some time. Hell, they even decided to be frugal when they could have lived like kings, if they wanted to.  
Snake rubbed his temple with one hand, the other resting on his lap. With room, board, and all essentials taken care of, he should have been content with life.  
He was anything but.  
Something kept nagging at the back of his mind, something that bothered him greatly since he couldn't recognize what it was.  
Quietly, stealthily like he was, did the nagging come, almost a year ago. He never gave much thought to it, and as such, ignored it. As time passed, the sensation grew, sometimes physically emulating into headaches or migraines. He tried talking to Otacon about it, but that only made things worse.  
..Come to think of it, whenever he thought about Otacon - no, Hal - he noticed that he reacted oddly.  
Snake would listen, quite intently, to everything Otacon ever had to say. He would comfort him if he were depressed. Mourned with him when his sister, Emma, died. Worried about him- whether he liked to admit it or not- whenever they were apart.  
He blinked.  
Suddenly, he chuckled, and ran his hand through his hair. Goddamnit, that was it.  
Dave was in love.  
He shook his head and leaned back on the couch, the back of his head only slightly touching the brick wall behind him.  
Really, he was surprised that he didn't notice it earlier. Perhaps it was his stubbornness- he knew he could be pigheaded to the most obvious at times. Or perhaps it was his un-willingness to love at all; anyone he ever cared for wound up dead.  
Still leaning back, Snake smirked, staring up at the ceiling. Dark green. Snake didn't particularly care for the colour,  
but Otacon had insisted on it, saying that it gave the room a 'certain glow, and besides which-  
He stopped himself, and laughed. Now he knew for certain- love was remembering a trivial conversation from years past.  
"I'll be damned" Snake said aloud to no one in particular.  
"I love that man"  
Whether dulled by thought, or simply not paying attention to his surroundings, Snake failed to see a very pale-faced Otacon standing in the doorway, gaping at him. 

Otacon looked at Snake, his arms full with groceries, hands struggling to find balance between food and apartment key. he felt suddenly drained, devoid of life, and really needed a seat.  
Otacon released a soft deliberate cough to let his presence be known, and started to make his way toward the kitchen.  
"Hal!" snake exclaimed, rising to his feet and heading in Otacon's direction. "Here, let me help you with those"  
Otacon nodded, letting Snake grab the parcels from him. He turned slightly to close and lock the door, and strode over to the couch, weakly sitting down.  
"Dave, would you mind putting those away for me? I..I feel kinda tired"  
Snake nodded. "Sure.." he started pulling things from the bags, putting them in their proper place.  
The apartment was silent for a time, the very air seeming thick with uneasiness. Snake continued his work. Otacon gulped,  
trying to hold back tears. So, Dave loved another man. otacon was going to have to live with that.  
But, why did it bother him so much?  
Otacon's breath increased. What did he expect, the man to be him? For Snake to fulfill the dreams he's been having since he first met the man? For romance and passion?  
Otacon learned a long time ago that love and romance didn't truly exist. that was for the movies. god, everything seemed so Hollywood to him.  
task accomplished, Snake looked up toward Otacon, and saw the man clutching his chest. The hell?  
"Hal, what's wrong?" snake said, quickly striding over to the scientist. He kneeled on the floor in front of Otacon, and put a hand on his shoulder.  
"What's the matter with you"  
Otacon's gaze focused to see a confused snake in front of him.  
"I...it's..I mean..." he flustered, looking for words.  
Snake furrowed an eyebrow in frustration. He was never a patient man.  
"What's wrong?" he asked, gruffly. "You can tell me"  
"I heard what you said.." came the quiet reply.  
Snake flinched. he hadn't realized Hal had heard what he said.  
"You love some man, right?" Otacon said, his gaze focusing on the ground between his feet. he began fidgeting with his hands, feeling uneasy.  
"Hal.." Snake began, but was interrupted.  
"Who is he"  
Snake blushed.  
"What"  
"Who is he..?" Otacon repeated with surprising resolve. "Who's the lucky guy?" Otacon let out a bitter laugh, perhaps a bit more harsher than he would have liked. A single tear fell from his eye, down into his lap.  
When Snake realized that he was Otacon was crying, before he realized what he was doing, he eased his hand to Hal's head,  
touching the side of his face.  
Otacon jolted at Snake's touch, and fought to surpress the blush rising to his face.  
"W-what are you doing"  
Snake ran his hand through Otacon's hair, wishing to all hell that he would stop that crying and just kiss him.  
"Why are you acting like this for"  
Otacon flinched. How dense was this man? And why did he have to be so damn near him, close enough to plant a soft kiss on those lips..Otacon swallowed.  
"I..I"  
Snake looked into his eyes deeply, moved a bit closer.  
"please, tell me"  
"I..I love you, you moron!" Otacon cried out.  
"I-I..I loved you since I first saw you.." he stammered, turning his gaze away from Snake's.  
He kept talking. "I wanted you...I, I wanted to be with you.."he continued, voice cracking with sorrow. "I love you..like no one I've ever loved..and you..you're so dense"  
Otacon gathered his strength, and looked at Snake, who continued to kneel there in front of him, stunned.  
"I love you more than life itself" he continued. Otacon thought he was just babbling, but he needed to say this. "If..if that means I must complete with someone for your love, then, I will...b-because..I care about you so much, that it hurts, and"  
He stopped when he realized that there was a Snake suddenly attached to him, lips on lips.  
Time and sorrow stopped existing.  
Snake brushed his lips over Otacons full ones, holding the man's head in his hands. Snake's lips played upon Otacons mouth, kissing otacon with a fervor unlike anything he felt before. Otacon gasped, reeling from the sensation, and was shocked to feel Snake's tongue enter his mouth, gently exploring him. Otacon followed suit, rubbing his tongue against Snake's lapping at the man's mouth hungrily. Otacon felt a low moan rise from Snake's throat, and realized that Snake was starting to nibble on his lover's lip; with this, Otacon lost all thought.  
Breaking apart from each other for breath, Snake pushed their foreheads together, gently caressing Otacon's hair once again. He looked longingly into Otacon's eyes and smiled warmly.  
"It's you, you idiot." Snake said, his voice raspy.  
Otacon's eyes teared up again, and he smiled.  
"R-really"  
Snake kept smiling and leaned forward, brushing his lips to Otacon's cheeks, nodding.  
"Hal.. Let me kiss your tears away"  
Otacon laughed, and blushed. he couldn't believe that something like this was happening, and to him, of all people.  
"Dave. Please..tell me that this isn't a dream"  
Snake thought, and then grinned. he moved one hand away from Otacon's head, and started slowly moving it further down his body. Hair to ear, ear melting into neck, moving slowly on his chest.  
"Does that feel like a dream to you?" Snake asked, still running his other hand through Otacon's hair.  
Otacon closed his eyes, leaning into Snakes touch, and shook his head no.  
Snake kept moving his hand lower, dangerously lower, until he merely brushed upon Otacon's rising member. Otacon gasped.  
"Does that"  
Otacon shook his head harder, looking into Snake's eyes. "Dave?" he asked raptly.  
Snake nuzzled him, kissing his neck, while softly cupping Otacon with his hand, causing a wonderful moan to escape from Otacon's lips.  
"Ohhh..Dave"  
Snake raised his hand off Otacon, and pressed it against his chest. Snake pushed his lips towards Otacon's left ear, breath hot upon Hal's ears.  
"I wanted to do this for years"  
A simple statement was all that was needed for Hal Emmerich's heart to soar. His closed his eyes.  
"Oh, dave..I..I love you so much.." Otacon whispered.  
With a quick nibble of Otacon's ear, Snake moved away teasingly, and stood up. With a devious look in his eyes, he took Otacon by the hands and guided him to stand up. he motioned toward the bedroom, and looked deep into Otacon's eyes.  
"Would you"  
Otacon leapt forward, and kissed Snake, placing both of his hands on the man's chest. Snake responded in kind, wrapping his arms around Otacon to return the kiss. Time quickly passed, and the kisses grew more heated, tongues dancing across their mouths. When they finally pulled away to breath, Otacon nodded his head, leading Snake to the bedroom. Once inside,  
Snake turned, locked the door, and quite literally pounced on Otacon.

They never stopped kissing. Bodies entwined, passions rising, the heat between them almost unbearable. And still, still, they never stopped kissing, never stopped caressing each other, the tension and stress giving way to raw emotion. Here, they finally found each other after all this time. They had someone to love, someone to care for- someone to live for, at long last.  
The nagging returned that night. As Snake made love to Otacon, the sensation and pain returned, more violently this time.  
Every time Snake felt Otacon against him, the pain increased. Snake refused to take heed of this, taking it as nothing, and continued loving Otacon. He felt a sudden pain in his left arm as he neared completion, his breath becoming more raspy.  
His chest felt tighter, and he held onto Otacon from behind, hugging him tightly. Something was wrong.  
To his credit, Otacon was aware of the sudden change in Snake, but took no heed of it then- being on the verge of climax did that to people. It didn't help that Snake was lovingly filling him, either, and holding him tightly.  
Snake closed his eyes, the pain like sharp needles entering his chest. Squeezing Otacon tightly, he screamed Otacon's name,  
releasing himself into his lover. Shortly afterwards, Otacon let loose a long sigh, freeing himself from his tension.  
Snake pulled away quickly and grasped his chest. the pain was overtaking him, and he couldn't breathe.  
Otacon turned toward Snake.  
"Dave? What's wrong?" He said, crawling toward Snake, taking him in his arms.  
"My chest. It feels like.."Snake started, and drew a sharp breath when a harsher pain coursed through him, making his left arm numb.  
His mind clicked the final pieces together, and he looked up at Hal, eyes clear.  
"No.."Otacon cried out. "No, no, no, not this, not no..please god, no.."he said, face pained, eyes tearing up.  
"FOX.."Snake whispered as the pain shot through him one final time.  
It stopped.  
Snake smiled, and looked up at Otacon.  
"Hal. I love"  
he stopped, his eyes closing.  
And then, quite slowly and deliberately, his body became very, very still.


End file.
